I just finished my shaping bay today. I want to shape a 8’ 4" x 22" x 2 7/8" for my first board. I want to copy an old board that i love that is falling apart. This way i also have something to model after.
Should i create a template out of masonite? I also heard that you can create a template out of roofing felt. Has anyone tried this? And to create that template, I always thought you would lay my old board on the masonite and trace it. My friend said that the best way of measuring is to go down the stringer in increments of about 3" and take the width of the board from the stringer. Then plot those points on the masonite and connect/smooth them. How do you do it?
Can someone also explain the glassing process. I know at this point i want to put a 6 oz. cloth on the bottom and top with an extra 4 oz. cloth on top. Then do you hotcoat? After that is there another coat or are you done at the hotcoat? Where does the finbox installation come in this process. Should i cover my racks with tape or something to protect it from the resin? How much resin does it take for one board?
First, the template. Both your friend and yourself are right. You may lay your piece of masonite or cardboard or plywood or just any material tight against your old board and pencil the outline on one side BUT be very careful to hold the pencil at the very same angle all the way or you will slightly change the curve. But you may also use your friend’s method and use a batten (long piece of flexible wood or plastic) to join the points.
Glassing is usually done using one layer of 6 oz on the bottom and two layers on tthe deck (one 6 oz and one 4 oz is average, but you may use 2 X 6 oz, that will make your board stronger and a bit heavier).
Then you hotcoat one side at a time. Then you sand the hot coat to make the board perfectly smooth and take away all the resin in excess (resin alone is weight without strength) but be careful not to sand into the cloth. Providing your sanding is good and not too many sand-throughs occured in the glass cloth, you may leave it at that (sanded finish). Or you might want to do it real good and do a final gloss-coat that is then finely sanded using wet and dry paper with finer and finer grits, then polish to obtain a fine looking mirror-like finish.
Detailed threads in the archives about all of the above…